Method for Applying Wear Resistant Coating to Mechanical Face Seal

ABSTRACT

Mechanical face seal rings having a metallurgically bonded wear-resistant coating on the wear surfaces thereof and methods for forming such coated components is taught herein. The face seal rings, which can be formed of a relatively inexpensive base metal or alloy, have a hard metal alloy slurry disposed on the wear surfaces and then fused to form a metallurgical bond with the iron-based alloy. The wear-resistant coating comprises a fused, metal alloy comprising at least 60% iron, cobalt, nickel, or alloys thereof.

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 12/495,271,filed Jun. 30, 2009, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No.11/171,193, filed Jul. 1, 2005, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S.Ser. No. 10/090,617, filed Mar. 6, 2002, the entire contents of each ofwhich are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present disclosure relates generally to components of track-typemachines, such as track chain bottom rollers, track chain links, trackpin bushings, track pins and track pin bushing joints, which are made ofnon-carburized steel having a wear-resistant coating metallurgicallybonded thereto. In particular, it relates to undercarriage assemblycomponents and other components of track-type machines that are made ofnon-carburized steel and that have a wear resistant coating that ismetallurgically bonded to portions of the component subject to wear,such as portions of the bottom roller, surfaces where the track chainlink engages and disengages, an outside diameter surface of a track pinbushing where a drive sprocket engages and disengages the surface, aninside diameter surface of the track pin bushing, and a hinge pinbushing where two machine members are hinged together, and the outsidediameter surface of the pin in the track pin bushing and the hinged pinjoint.

The present disclosure also relates to methods for applying awear-resistant coating to one or more contact faces of a mechanical faceseal in order to increase the service life thereof. Such a coatingallows for the use of lower cost materials as the base material of theseal, decreasing the overall cost of the seal.

2. Description of Related Art

In the discussion of the state of the art that follows, reference ismade to certain structures and/or methods. However, the followingreferences should not be construed as an admission that these structuresand/or methods constitute prior art. Applicant expressly reserves theright to demonstrate that such structures and/or methods do not qualifyas prior art against the present invention.

An endless track is a chain made up of links, track pin bushings, trackpins, bottom rollers and shoes. FIG. 1 shows these undercarriageassembly components in a representative section of a track on atrack-type machine, i.e., a crawler tractor. Each section of the trackis a pair of links fastened together with a track pin bushing at one endand a track pin at the other end. The track pin fits inside the bushingto hold the next pair of links. Both the track pin and the track pinbushing are typically “press fit” into the links so the section does notwork apart during the service life of the track. One track pin on eachtrack, the so-called master pin, is held in by a snap ring to allowremoval and separation of the track, for example, when performingrepairs or maintenance of the track. A track shoe, having a desired gripor grouser determined by the environment of intended use (e.g., clay,slit, loam, gravel, snow, mud, or hard surfaces) is bolted to eachsection to provide traction.

The undercarriage assembly components of track-type machines, such astrack chain bottom rollers, track chain links, track pin bushings, trackpins and track pin bushing joints in endless tracks of a track-typemachine are subjected to very severe operating environments. Forexample, debris, soil, rocks and so forth can enter the track andundercarriage of a track-type machine, such as a crawler tractor, duringoperation. These materials can subsequently accumulate between theengaging surfaces of the undercarriage assembly components and engagingsurfaces of the drive equipment, pack into the area between them and/ordirectly grind, wear, pit, scratch or crack the surface of theundercarriage assembly components. A track that is adjusted too tightcan increase friction and cause accelerated wear to undercarriageassembly components, such as track pins and track pin bushings. In anextreme case, severely tight track adjustment can cause the track to runextremely hot and “draw-back” the hardness of undercarriage assemblycomponents, such as track pins and track pin bushings, i.e., heat treatthe components resulting in a reduction in the components' hardness, andeven cause the track pins and track pin bushings to fuse together. Atthe other end of the spectrum, a too loose track can allow drivesprocket teeth to jump links, especially in reverse, causing wear toundercarriage assembly components such as the teeth and the track pinbushings, bottom rollers, and so forth.

Undercarriage assembly components are subject to wear. For example,there are two types of wear on track pins and track pinbushings—external wear and internal wear. External wear takes place onthe outer diameter of the track pin bushings in the area contacted bythe drive sprocket teeth. This contact area is about ⅓ or more of thesurface of the track pin bushing and occupies the majority of the centerlength of the track pin bushing. Wear occurs on the outside diameter ofthe track pin and the inside diameter of the track pin bushing.Additionally, where the track pin bushings are fitted into the tracklink counterbores, internal wear can occur on the outside diameter ofthe ends of the track pin bushings. Thus, current track pins and trackpin bushings in endless tracks experience wear and stress which cannegatively impact the service life of the track pin bushing.

Current track pins and track pin bushings are typically formed frommaterials that are hardened to decrease wear and increase service life.For example, current track pins are case hardened by carburizing thealloy and then quenching. However, these materials and methods stillresult in a relatively short service life. Thus, in addition to materialselection for hardness and wear resistance, current track pins and trackpin bushings are either turned or replaced to present a new wear surfaceto the sprocket and consequently extend service life. See, for example,Louis R. Hathaway, Ed., “Tires and Tracks, Fundamentals of Service”,Moline, Ill.: Deere and Company, 1986, pp. 47-67. However, the trackpins and track pin bushings must be turned prior to being worn past thewear limit, or they will not be serviceable. Thus, frequent inspectionand maintenance of track pins and track pin bushings occurs to identifyand ameliorate components that have worn, resulting in the associateddown time of equipment and personnel.

In addition, other pin/bushing (P/B) joints are widely used as hingesbetween two machine members in various types of machinery such as heavyequipment including tractors, construction, forestry and miningequipment. The P/B joint while serving as a hinge is also required toserve as a loaded bearing during relative motion between the two machinemembers connected to the joint. Such a joint, by virtue of its locationon the machine and depending on the type of machine, is exposed to adusty environment. The dust from this environment, which is mostly finesand particles, enters into the space between the pin and the bushingand causes accelerated wear of the pin and the bushing mating surfacesand thus reduces the joint life. This then makes it necessary to replacethe joint frequently even with frequent daily or weekly changing of thelubricant. The accelerated wear due to sand particles is due to thehigher hardness of sand as compared to the hardness of the pin andbushing surfaces.

In conventional track/pin bushings, mating surfaces, which are the outersurface of the pin and the bore surface of the bushing, are casecarburized and the parts are then quenched and tempered to obtain a highhardness on the surfaces. These high-hardness surfaces are moreresistant to abrasion by fine sand particles (which travel from theoutside environment into the clearance between the pin and the bushing)than if they were not carburized. This leads to a longer life of the P/Bjoint. However, the surface hardness obtained by this method ofcarburizing and quenching is only about 60-62 HRC which is much lessthan the hardness of the sand particles and therefore the techniqueprovides only a limited P/B wear protection and life extension. The sandparticles which enter into the clearance space between the pin and thebushing get mixed with the lubricating grease (which is injected intothe clearance) and the effectiveness of the grease gradually diminishes.This makes it necessary to force out the grease from the joint clearancespace frequently, sometimes daily, depending on the degree of joint sealeffectiveness, and the environment in which the machine is working, toget the sand out of the joint. This frequent purging of grease helpsincrease the joint life to some extent. Nevertheless, this purgingoperation, if required to be done frequently, becomes time consuming andwasteful.

Other current undercarriage assembly components are typically formedfrom materials that are hardened to decrease wear and increase servicelife. For example, current bottom rollers are hardened by quenching.However, these materials and methods still result in a relatively shortservice life. The wear problem is aggravated because sand is much harderthan even the hardened steel and wear of the bottom roller cannot besubstantially reduced by simply hardening the contact surface. Thus,frequent inspection and maintenance of bottom rollers occurs to identifyand ameliorate components that have worn, resulting in the associateddown time of equipment and personnel. Similar efforts with similarlimited results are known for other undercarriage assembly components.

Also, for example, undercarriage track chain links that form a part ofthe undercarriage assembly are subjected to severe wear and corrosion.Wear is caused by continuous contact with undercarriage rollers whichthemselves are hardened. The wear rate is enhanced due to abrasiveaction of dry sand and wet sand slurry and other hard materials such asrocks, trapped between the link and roller contact surfaces. The wearproblem is further aggravated due to the fact that sand is much, harderthan even the hardened steel, and wear of links cannot be substantiallyreduced by simply hardening the contact surface. Therefore a solutionother than heat treatment is required to reduce wear rate to prolong thelife of the link substantially.

Also, due to the functional nature of the crawler and other constructionand mining equipment, the undercarriage parts of these machines arerequired to be in intimate contact with wet sand and mud continuously.This causes the link surfaces to corrode, thus producing a synergisticeffect on wear. This corrosion cannot be reduced by hardening the steel.Any other superficial surface treatment of links, such as carburizing,nitriding or other conventional surface treatment methods, are not costeffective against the wear-and corrosion-indicated that environment thatthe links face during service. A more expensive material, such as ahighly alloyed steel or other advanced material, therefore does notconstitute used since such a substitution would substantially increasecost and cannot be an acceptable solution.

A solution to the problem which can reduce both wear and corrosion andalso which can be applied in a production environment and at a low cost,is required.

A change in the current manufacturing process of components is proposed.The current method involves hot forging medium carbon steel containingvarious amounts of boron, manganese, chromium and others, machiningmating surface and induction hardening select surfaces.

Coating a metal surface with another metal or metal alloy to enhanceappearance, protect against corrosion, or improve resistance to wear isoften referred to as “hardfacing” or “hard surfacing.” For example, seeAlessi U.S. Pat. No. Re. 27,851, Revankar U.S. Pat. No. 5,027,878 andU.S. Pat. No. 5,443,916, Brady, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,682,987, andHill U.S. Pat. No. 5,456,323.

Hardfacing is often done by fusing a powdered, hard metal alloy onto ametal surface. In endless track applications, metal parts subject towear can be case hardened to improve wear resistance. However,application of current wear-resistant coatings prior to carburizingresults in oxidation of the wear-resistant coating during subsequentcarburizing with an adverse impact on the wear-resistant properties ofthe coating.

Accordingly, longer wearing surfaces on undercarriage assemblycomponents of endless tracks used in track-type machines, such as trackpin bushings, are desired to extend the service life and to reduce thelong-term maintenance cost associated with endless tracks. Further, amethod of producing such a longer wearing surface by coating with awear-resistant alloy while still obtaining a desired wear resistance ofthe uncoated portions of the component by other suitable means, i.e.,case hardening, and in particular, by induction hardening is desirable.

Also, due to the functional nature of the heavy machinery construction,mining and forestry type equipment, the components, both theundercarriage assembly components and the hinge joint components, ofthese machines are required to be in intimate contact with wet sand andmud continuously during the machine operation. This causes componentssuch as the bottom roller surfaces to corrode, thus producing asynergistic effect on wear due to abrasion. This corrosion cannot bereduced by hardening the steel. Any other superficial surface treatmentof bottom rollers such as carburizing, nitriding or other conventionalsurface treatment methods are not cost effective or adequate against ahighly wear- and corrosion-prone environment which the bottom rollersface during service. A more expensive material such as a highly alloyedsteel or other advanced material, cannot be used since such asubstitution would substantially increase cost without a correspondingincrease in performance, and cannot be an acceptable solution.

A solution to the problem which can reduce both wear and corrosion andalso which can be applied in a production environment and at a low costis required.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,414,258 discloses a method of applying beads of hardmaterial to sprocket teeth and bushings of a base carrier for atracklaying vehicle. In this method, the beads are applied sequentiallyby weld overlays (an obviously slow process) and produce a sinusoidaltype surface which is detrimental to the mating part such as the chainlink. Because of the bead nature of the deposit, it takes a substantialtime to generate a smoother surface by initial wear. Before this smoothwear surface is produced, the deposited contact surface can cause damageto the mating link surface.

Mechanical face seals, such as those used in track rollers, areimportant in the protection of the bearings of the track rollers fromcontact with abrasives, such as dust, sand, mud, soil, etc. Such sealsalso protect the bearings of track carriers, idlers, drives and axelhubs, and the like from abrasive contact.

These mechanical face seals are typically made from relatively high costbase metals in order to provide the seals with both corrosion and wearresistance. These base metals can make the overall cost of the sealrelatively expensive, with the result that previous attempts have beenmade to apply wear-resistant coatings to the contact face of the seal.However, these wear-resistant coatings were found to be too thin. Whenapplied to a lower cost base material, these thin coatings can be wornaway in places during grinding and polishing operations, thus exposingthe lower cost base materials to corrosion. In addition, because thelower cost base materials had an increased wear rate relative to theapplied coatings, the overall wear life of thinly coated face seals wasfound to be unacceptable. Accordingly, there remains a need in the artfor a mechanical face seal having a wear resistant coating thereon thatallows for the use of lower cost base materials while maintainingdesired corrosion and wear resistance.

SUMMARY

The method and apparatus disclosed herein avoid or alleviate some or allof the problems of the prior art described above.

It is further an object of this invention to provide a wear-resistantcoating on at least a track chain bushing, pin, roller, or other part ofan undercarriage track chain.

In one aspect of the invention, there is provided a track pin bushingfor cooperating with a track pin in an endless track, the track pinbushing comprising:

-   -   a tubular body formed of non-carburized iron-based alloy with a        first end and a second end, an outer surface that is        case-hardened in at least a section thereof, and an inner        surface having an inner diameter, wherein the inner diameter        defines the circumference of an axial bore extending from the        first end to the second end; and    -   a wear-resistant coating metallurgically bonded to said        non-carburized iron absorbed alloy prior to formation of said        case-hardened outer surface, the wear-resistant coating        comprising a fused, hard metal alloy comprising at least 60%        iron, cobalt, nickel, or alloys thereof. Desirably, the        metallurgically bonded wear-resistant coating has a Vickers        Hardness greater than 950 HV, more particularly, a Vickers        Hardness of 950 HV to 1250 HV.

In a second embodiment, there is provided a track pin bushing forcooperating with a track pin in an endless track, the track pin bushingcomprising:

-   -   a first end and a second end;    -   an inner surface having an inner diameter, wherein the inner        diameter defines the circumference of an axial bore extending        from the first end to the second end;    -   an outer surface having an outer diameter; at a first end        section and a second end section and a second outer diameter at        a middle section therebetween, wherein the second outer diameter        is greater than the first outer diameter;        -   a wear-resistant coating disposed on said inner surface,            said outer surface, or both and metallurgically bonded to            the non-carburized iron-based alloy, the wear-resistant            coating comprising a fused, hard metal alloy comprising at            least 60% iron, cobalt, nickel, or alloys thereof and having            a Vickers Hardness greater than 950 HV.

In a further aspect of the invention, there is provided a method forhardfacing with a wear-resistant coating a metal surface of anon-carburized metal part, the method comprising the steps of:

-   -   coating at least a portion of a surface of said non-carburized        metal part with a slurry comprising a fusible, hard metal alloy        with at least 60% iron, cobalt, nickel, or alloys thereof in the        form of a finely divided powder, polyvinyl alcohol, a suspension        agent and a deflocculant; and    -   forming a metallurgical bond between the area and the coated        slurry to form the wear-resistant coating. The non-carburized        metal part may be through-hardened, induction hardened, or a        combination of both.

In a second embodiment, there is provided a method for hardfacing ametal surface of a non-carburized track pin bushing with awear-resistant coating, the track pin bushing comprising an outersurface having an outer diameter, an inner surface having an innerdiameter, a first end and a second end, wherein the inner diameterdefines the circumference of an axial bore extending from the first endto the second end and cooperating with a track pin in an endless track,the method comprising

-   -   coating an exposed layer of the noncarburized track pin bushing        with a slurry comprising a fusible, hard metal alloy with at        least 60% iron, cobalt, nickel, or alloys thereof in the form of        a finely divided powder, polyvinyl alcohol, a suspension agent        and a deflocculant;    -   forming the wear-resistant coating by metallurgically bonding        the exposed layer of the noncarburized track pin and fused, hard        metallurgically in the slurry; and    -   case hardening the track pin bushing by induction hardening.

In an additional embodiment, there is provided a method for hardfacing ametal surface of a track pin bushing with a wear-resistant coating, themethod comprising:

-   -   forming the track pin bushing having a first end and a second        end, an inner surface having an inner diameter, wherein the        inner diameter defines the circumference of an axial bore        extending from the first end to the second end, an outer surface        having a first outer diameter at a first end section and a        second end section and a second outer diameter at a middle        section therebetween, the second outer diameter being greater        than the first outer diameter from non-carburized steel;    -   coating said inner surface, said outer surface, or both with a        slurry comprising a fusible, hard metal alloy with at, least 60%        iron, cobalt, nickel, or alloys thereof in the form of a finely        divided powder, polyvinyl alcohol, a suspension agent and a        deflocculant;    -   adjusting a thickness of the slurry to have an outer surface        that is concentric with the axial bore, wherein the thickness of        the concentric outer surface is from 1.67 to 2.0 times a final        thickness of the wear-resistant coating;    -   forming the wear-resistant coating by metallurgically bonding        said hard metal alloy in said slurry; and    -   case hardening at least the inner diameter and first and second        ends.

In an additional aspect of the invention, there is provided a track pinbushing in combination with a track pin for connecting adjacent tracklinks in an endless track of a crawler track, the track pin bushingincluding an axial bore therethrough in which is positioned the trackpin, the track pin bushing comprising:

-   -   a tubular body formed of a non-carburized case hardened        iron-based alloy with a first end and a second end, an outer        surface, and an inner surface having an inner diameter, wherein        the inner diameter defines the circumference of the axial bore        extending from the first end to the second end; and    -   a wear-resistant coating metallurgically bonded to said outer        surface, the wear-resistant coating comprising a fused, hard        metal alloy comprising at least 60% iron, cobalt, nickel, or        alloys thereof.

In another aspect of the invention, there is provided a pin bushingjoint of an endless track of a track-type machine, the pin bushing jointcomprising:

a bushing comprising a non-carburized steel including an outer surfacehaving an outer diameter and including an inner surface having an innerdiameter; anda track pin comprising a non-carburized steel and including an outersurface, wherein a portion of the outer surface of the track pinsubstantially conforms to a portion of the inner surface of the bushingto form a wear surface, and wherein the wear surface has ametallurgically bonded, wear-resistant coating, the wear-resistantcoating comprising a fused hard metal alloy comprising at least 60% byweight iron, cobalt, nickel or alloys thereof.

In still another aspect of the invention, there is provided a method ofmaking a pin bushing joint, the method comprising:

forming a bushing including an outer surface having an outer diameterand including an inner surface having an inner diameter;forming a track pin including an outer surface substantially conformingto a portion of the inner surface of the bushing to form a wear surface;wherein both of bushing and the track pin comprise non-carburized steel;coating the inner surface of the bushing and the outer surface of thetrack pin with a slurry comprising a fusible, hard metal alloy with atleast 60% by weight of iron, cobalt, nickel or alloys thereof in theform of a finely divided powder, polyvinyl alcohol, a suspension agentand a deflocculant; andforming a metallurgical bond between the bushing, track pin, and thehard metal alloy in said coating slurry to form a wear-resistantcoating.

In a further aspect of the invention, there is provided an undercarriageis track chain bottom roller comprising:

-   -   at least one cylindrical portion comprising non-carburized        steel;    -   and at least one flange of greater diameter than said at least        one cylindrical portion and comprising non-carburized steel;    -   at least a portion of said at least one cylindrical portion and        said at least one flange portion being subjected to wear;    -   said portions being subjected to wear having a metallurgically        bonded, wear-resistant coating;    -   said wear-resistant coating comprising a fused hard metal alloy        comprising at least 60% by weight iron, cobalt, nickel or alloys        thereof.

In a still further aspect of the invention, there is provided a methodfor making an undercarriage track chain bottom roller comprising:

-   -   forming a roll body having at least one cylindrical portion and        at least one flange portion;    -   removing the outer surface of those portions of the said        cylindrical and flange portions subject to wear to expose an        area of the roller body to be coated;    -   coating one or more surfaces of said cylindrical portion and/or        said flange portion with a slurry comprising a fusible, hard        metal alloy with at least 60% by weight of iron, cobalt, nickel        or alloys thereof in the form of a finely divided powder,        polyvinyl alcohol, a suspension agent and a deflocculant; and    -   forming a metallurgical bond between the exposed area and the        hard metal alloy in said coating slurry to form a wear-resistant        coating.

In another aspect of the invention, there is provided a track chain linkof an endless track of a track-type machine comprising:

-   -   a body formed of non-carburized hardened steel;    -   a mounting surface on a first edge of the body, the mounting        surface including at least one opening for an attachment device;        and    -   a contact surface on a second edge of the body,    -   wherein the contact surface is opposite the mounting surface,    -   wherein the contact surface includes a substantially planar        region extending a distance along the second edge forming a wear        surface, and wherein the wear surface has a metallurgically        bonded, wear-resistant coating, the wear-resistant coating        comprising a fused hard metal alloy comprising at least 60% by        weight iron, cobalt, nickel or alloys thereof.

In still another aspect of the invention, there is provided a method ofmaking a track chain link, the method comprising:

-   -   forming the track chain link, the track chain link including a        body comprising non-carburized steel, a mounting surface on a        first edge of the body, and a contact surface on a second edge        of the body, wherein the mounting surface includes at least one        opening for an attachment device, the contact surface includes a        substantially planar region extending a distance along the        second edge, forming a wear surface, and the contact surface is        opposite the mounting surface;        -   coating at least a portion of the wear surface of the track            chain link with a slurry comprising a fusible, hard metal            alloy with at least 60% by weight of iron, cobalt, nickel or            alloys thereof in the form of a finely divided powder,            polyvinyl alcohol, a suspension agent and a deflocculant;            and    -   forming a metallurgical bond between the coated area and the        hard metal alloy in said coating slurry to form a wear-resistant        coating.

Desirably, the parts to be coated as described above are formed fromnon-carburized, medium carbon alloy steel. Such a procedure avoids theneed to (a) carburize the steel part prior to coating, and (b) remove aportion of the resulting high carbon steel surface to allow adequatemetallurgical bonding to the coating, as is described in U.S. Pat. No.6,948,784. This results in a more streamlined, more efficient, lowercost production process, while still producing parts with desirable andacceptable properties. Desirably, the wear-resistance coating has aVickers Hardness of greater than 950 HV, more particularly, from 950 HVto 1250 HV.

Following metallurgical bonding of the wear-resistant coating, the partcan be through-hardened and/or case hardened by induction hardeningusing techniques known in the art. The resulting induction hardeningproduces a wear-resistant layer of steel having a hardness of 55-60 HRCover the surface of the part, and in a layer below the metallurgicallybonded wear-resistant coating.

In another embodiment, the coating described herein is applied to acontact face of a base metal mechanical face seal ring. By doing so, avolume of wear material of the seal ring is replaced by the material ofthe applied coating. The process does not require a significantalteration of the manufacturing process for the mechanical seal ring inthe sense that the process for forming the ring and the finishingoperations with respect to the sealing face may remain the same as for aconventional ring. Because the coating described herein may be appliedto a relatively thick depth, the resulting contact face may be groundand polished to finish the sealing face while maintaining an adequatecoating to provide a hard, wear-resistant, corrosion-resistant surfacewhen the seal ring is in use.

Indeed, for seals that are designed to open out from the seal facestoward a central axis of the seal ring, as the wear on the sealincreases, the sealing face continuously shifts toward the center axis,providing a wear volume that does not end until the inside diameter ofthe seal is reached. Because the embodiments disclosed herein cause thiswear volume to be formed of the wear resistant coating described herein,this reserve wear volume provides a hard, wear-resistant surface thatextends the life of the seal.

Although the entire seal ring could be made of the material used in thehard coating described herein, applying a coating of this material to abase metal seal ring allows for a significant decrease in cost, since alower cost base metal may be used for a portion of the volume of theseal ring.

Accordingly, in one embodiment is disclosed a method for producing awear-resistant mechanical face seal ring, comprising:

obtaining an uncoated metal ring, comprising:

-   -   a radially inner surface;    -   a radially outer surface forming an axially inner lip, an        axially outer lip, and a groove therebetween;    -   a coatable surface extending between an edge of the axially        inner lip and the radially inner surface;

coating an exposed area of the coatable surface with a slurry comprisinga fusible, hard metal alloy with at least 60% by weight of iron, cobalt,nickel, or alloys thereof in the form of a finely divided powder,polyvinyl alcohol, a suspension agent, and a deflocculant;

forming a metallurgical bond between the exposed area and the coatingslurry to form a metallurgically bonded wear-resistant coating on atleast a portion of said coatable surface.

In another embodiment is disclosed a wear-resistant mechanical face sealring produced by this process.

In another embodiment is disclosed a wear-resistant mechanical face sealring, comprising:

an uncoated metal ring, comprising:

-   -   a radially inner surface;    -   a radially outer surface forming an axially inner lip, an        axially outer lip, and a groove therebetween;    -   a coatable surface extending between an edge of the axially        inner lip and the radially inner surface; and

a metallurgically bonded wear-resistant coating on at least a portion ofsaid coatable surface.

Desirably, the metallurgically bonded wear-resistant coating comprises afused hard metal alloy comprising at least 60% by weight of iron,cobalt, nickel, or alloys thereof and having a Vickers hardness greaterthan 950 HV.

Desirably, the method further comprises lapping, grinding, polishingand/or otherwise finishing the surface of the metallurgically bondedwear-resistant coating.

In another embodiment is disclosed a mechanical face seal, comprising:

first and second mechanical face seal rings as described herein,disposed coaxially, such that the wear-resistant coating of each are incontact over at least a portion thereof;

first and second elastomeric rings disposed radially outward of saidfirst and second mechanical face seal rings, respectively, wherein eachelastomeric ring is in contact with the groove in the radially outersurface of each respective ring;

first and second housing bores disposed radially outward of said firstand second elastomeric rings, respectively, such that each housing borecompresses the respective elastomeric ring between an inner surface ofthe housing bore and said radially outer surface of said mechanical faceseal ring.

In such a mechanical face seal, the radially inner surfaces of themechanical face seal rings define a region desirably containing one ormore lubricants, such as a lithium grease, lubricant oil, and the like.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent fromthe following detailed description of preferred embodiments thereof inconnection with the accompanying drawings in which like numeralsdesignate like elements and in which:

FIG. 1 shows the components of a typical endless track including a trackbushing.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic perspective view of a track pin bushing.

FIGS. 3A-B shows a schematic axial cross-section of A) a hardfaced trackpin bushing with an uniform outer diameter along its length and B) ahardfaced track pin bushing with an increased radius at a centralportion.

FIG. 4 shows a schematic perspective view of an assembled pin bushingjoint including a track pin bushing with a track pin inserted in thebore.

FIG. 5 shows a schematic perspective view of a disassembled pin bushingjoint showing the areas having hard facing applied.

FIG. 6 shows a schematic cross-section of a hardfaced track pin bushing.

FIG. 7 shows a schematic cross-section of a hardfaced track pin.

FIG. 8 shows schematic perspective view of an undercarriage track chainbottom roller showing the areas having hard facing applied.

FIG. 9 shows a schematic cross-section of a hardfaced undercarriagetrack chain bottom roller.

FIG. 10 shows a schematic perspective view of a first side of a trackchain link showing the areas having hard facing applied.

FIG. 11 shows a radial cross-section schematic representation of theradius variation during the method of hardfacing a track pin bushingwith a wear-resistant coating.

FIG. 12 shows a perspective view of an embodiment of a single ring of amechanical face seal prior to application of a wear resistantmetallurgical coating.

FIG. 13 shows a perspective view of the embodiment of a single ring ofFIG. 12 after application of the wear resistant metallurgical coating.

FIG. 14 shows a sectional view of the single ring of FIG. 13.

FIG. 15 shows a perspective view of an embodiment of a mechanical faceseal assembly containing an opposed pair of the coated mechanical faceseal rings, and the associated housings or bores.

FIG. 16 shows a sectional view of another embodiment of a mechanicalface seal assembly containing an opposed pair of coated mechanical faceseal rings, the associated housings or bores, and the associatedelastomeric rings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In an exemplary embodiment, the undercarriage assembly component havinga metallurgically bonded wear resistant coating is a track pin bushing.A track pin bushing cooperates with a track pin in an endless track of atrack-type machine, such as a crawler tractor. In an exemplaryembodiment and as shown in FIG. 2, the track pin bushing 200 has atubular body formed of non-carburized iron-based alloy, at least asection of which is case hardened, i.e., the outer surface, the innersurface, the ends, or portions or combinations thereof have beenhardened following coating of at least a part of the surface. The trackpin bushing 200 has an outer surface 202 having an outer diameter and aninner surface 204 having an inner diameter. The inner diameter definesthe circumference of an axial bore 206 extending from the first end 208to the second end 210.of the track pin bushing 200. A wear-resistantcoating 212 is disposed on and metallurgically bonded to a portion 214of the track pin bushing 200. This wear-resistant coating has beenapplied prior to hardening, so that the coating is applied to anon-carburized surface of the iron-based alloy.

In an exemplary embodiment, a hardfaced track pin bushing has an outersurface with a uniform, i.e., non-varying, outer diameter. At least aportion of the outer surface has been case hardened, e.g., inductionhardened, following coating with a wear-resistant coating. As shown inFIG. 3A, the track pin bushing 300 has an inner surface 302 having aninner diameter that defines the circumference of an axial bore 304extending from the first end 306 to the second end 308 of the track pinbushing 300. An outer surface 310 has an outer diameter that is uniformalong the axial length L of the track pin bushing 300. A wear-resistantcoating 312 is metallurgically bonded to a non-carburized surface 314.

In another exemplary embodiment, a hardfaced track pin bushing has anouter surface with a nonuniform, i.e., varying, outer diameter. At leasta portion of the outer surface has been case hardened, e.g., inductionhardened. As shown in FIG. 3B, the track pin bushing 318 has an innersurface 320 having an inner diameter that defines the circumference ofan axial bore 322 extending from the first end 324 to the second end 326of the track pin bushing 318. An outer surface 328 has at least onefirst section 330 with a first outer diameter and at least one secondsection 332 with a second outer diameter. In the embodiment as shown,the second section 332 is a central portion between first sections 330which are located at both the first end 324 and the second end 326. Thesecond outer diameter is greater than the first outer diameter resultingin the second section 332 protruding from the track pin bushing 318 overan axial length L′. A wear-resistant coating 334 is disposed on andmetallurgically bonded to a non-carburized layer 336 in at least aportion 338 of the second section 332.

In both the embodiments having a uniform outer diameter and having anonuniform outer diameter, the exposed non-carburized layer 314, 336 andthus the wear-resistant coating 312, 334 disposed therein and bondedthereto, extends over a portion of the outer surface 310, 328 thatcorresponds to at least the contact surface adapted to engage with adrive sprocket in the endless track of a track-type machine. In theexemplary embodiments shown, the exposed layer 314, 336 is formed in anannular groove or other well or cavity-like feature in the surface ofthe piece, so that the coated surface is flush with the non-coatedsurface. However, the coated layer need not be limited to such a grooveor well, and can be any shape or form as long as the coated portion ofthe device contains a non-carburized surface to which the wear-resistantcoating can fuse by a metallurgical bond. For example, as describedherein, the coating can be applied to a grooved surface or a well thathas been formed in a non-carburized metal piece, or can be formed overthe entire surface of the non-carburized metal piece. Either approachcan provide a coated surface without significant ridges or otherdiscontinuities, i.e., can provide a smooth surface, without the need tocarburize, then remove carburized material to form a groove or well,then coat the uncarburized layer, if such a smooth surface is desired.

In one aspect and in an application for a crawler tractor designated asJohn Deere 850C Series II Crawler, the wear-resistant coating extendsover a majority of an axial length of the track pin bushing. In otheraspects, the wear-resistant coating extends over an axial lengthcorresponding to the contact surface for the particular application,i.e. for the particular track-type machine, and may be a minoritylength, an end or plurality of ends, a groove or plurality of grooves,and so forth, as readily discernible by those of ordinary skill in theart.

In a further aspect, the wear-resistant coating has an outer surfaceflush with the outer surface of the track pin bushing, as shown in FIG.3A. In alternative aspects, the wear-resistant coating has an outersurface that is not flush with the outer surface but extends beyond theouter surface to provide a raised coating or recedes into the outersurface to provide a recessed coating. The thickness of the wearresistant coating determines the wear life of the track pin bushing andcan be any desired thickness, with a thicker coating promoting a longerwear life. In an exemplary embodiment, the wear-resistant coating has athickness of approximately 1-2 mm.

In a still further exemplary embodiment, the undercarriage assemblycomponent having a metallurgically bonded wear resistant coating is theseparate components of a track pin/bushing joint, e.g., a track pin andan inner diameter of a track pin pushing. A track pin/bushing joint isshown in schematic perspective view in FIG. 4. In FIG. 4, an assembledpin bushing joint 400 includes a track pin bushing 402 with a track pin404 inserted in the bore 406 of the track pin bushing 402. FIG. 5 showsa schematic perspective view of a disassembled pin bushing joint 400showing the areas of the track pin bushing 402 and the track pin 404having hard facing applied. The exemplary pin bushing joint 400, e.g.,the pin bushing joint of an endless track of a track-type machine,comprises a bushing 402 including an outer surface 410 having an outerradius R′ and including an inner surface 412 having an inner radius r′and a track pin 404 including an outer surface 414. A portion 420 of theouter surface 414 of the track pin 404 substantially conforms to aportion 422 of the inner surface 412 of the bushing 410 to form a wearsurface that has a metallurgically bonded, wear-resistant coating. Thewear-resistant coating comprises a fused hard metal alloy comprising atleast 60% by weight iron, cobalt, nickel or alloys thereof.

FIG. 6 shows a schematic cross-section of an exemplary hardfaced trackpin bushing 402. In the FIG. 6 view, the outer surface 410 having outerradius R′ and inner surface 412 having inner radius r′ can be seen.Also, the portion 422 of the inner surface 412 of the bushing 410contributing to forming the wear surface is shown. The portion 422 isshown as a channel 424 in the body 426 of the pin bushing 410 that hasbeen filled with the metallurgically bonded, wear-resistant coating 428and optionally machined to a desired surface position and roughness,e.g., machined level to the inner radius r. Optionally, the portion 422can be any portion of the length of the bore 406, including the entirelength, and the metallurgically bonded, wear-resistant coating 434 canalso optionally be applied directly to the inner surface 412 of theas-formed pin bushing 410, without any premachining such as premachiningto form the channel 424. Further and optionally, the outer surface ofthe bushing, such as outer surface 410 in FIG. 6, can also be hardfacedalong the entire area or a portion of the area using a similarmetallurgically bonded, wear-resistant coating.

FIG. 7 shows a schematic cross-section of an exemplary hardfaced trackpin 404. In the FIG. 7 view, the outer surface 414 can be seen. Also,the portion 420 of the outer surface 414 of the track pin 404contributing to forming the wear surface is shown. The portion 420 isshown as a channel 430 in the body 432 of the pin 404 that has beenfilled with the metallurgically bonded, wear-resistant coating 434 andoptionally machined to a desired surface position and roughness, e.g.,machined level to the outer surface 414. Optionally, the portion 420 canbe any portion of the length of the pin 404, including the entirelength, and the metallurgically bonded, wear-resistant coating 434 canalso optionally be applied directly to the outer surface 414 of theas-formed pin 404, without any premachining such as premachining to formthe channel 430.

In a proposed modified manufacturing process for a pin bushing joint,the forged pin bushing and forged track pin are undercut by a smallamount (generally 1-2 mm depending on the thickness of wear coatingrequired) in the vicinity of the portions of the pin bushing and trackpin which come in contact in the pin bushing joint, e.g., the wearsurfaces, and a slurry coating is applied to the machined surface to athickness such that, when fused, the slurry surface would coincide withthe desired surface, i.e., the surface obtained before undercutting. Thefused slurry coating forms a strong metallurgical bonding and does notspall off the steel substrate even on heating and cooling, as in thehardening process or when subjected to severe impact loads duringservice.

Similar to the discussions and treatments disclosed herein related topin bushing joints, other types of pin/busing joints such as hinge pinbushing where two machine members are hinged together can have ametallurgically bonded wear resistant coating. The discussions andtreatments disclosed herein related to pin bushing joints are generallyequally applicable to these other types of pin/busing joints and itshould be understood that this disclosure extends to such other types ofpin/busing joints.

In another exemplary embodiment, the undercarriage assembly componenthaving a metallurgically bonded wear resistant coating is anundercarriage track chain bottom roller. FIG. 8 shows a schematicperspective view of an exemplary undercarriage track chain bottom roller500 showing the areas having hard facing applied. In the FIG. 8 view,the outer surface 502 can be seen. The outer surface 502 hassubstantially cylindrical regions 504 bounded axially outwardly byflange portions 506. At least one flange portion 506 is of greaterdiameter than the substantially cylindrical regions 504. Mountingsurfaces 508 for installation in the track of a track-type machine arealso shown. The substantially cylindrical regions 504 are adapted tocontact a contact surface of a track chain link, e.g., the upper railsurface of the chain link as seen, for example, in the portion of thetrack of a track-type machine shown in FIG. 1. In operation, some or allof the substantially cylindrical regions 504 and the flange portions 506are subjected to wear and, therefore, some or all of the substantiallycylindrical regions 504 and for the flange portions 506 have hard facingapplied thereto.

FIG. 9 shows a schematic cross-section of a hardfaced undercarriagetrack chain bottom roller 500 showing the substantially cylindricalregions 504, the flange portions 506 and the mounting surfaces 508.Portions 520 of the substantially cylindrical regions 504 and the flangeportions 506 have a metallurgically bonded, wear-resistant coating 522comprising a fused hard is metal alloy comprising at least 60% by weightiron, cobalt, nickel or alloys thereof. Two variations (A and B) for theportions 520 are shown in FIG. 9, although multiple variations includingthose not shown may be used. Further, although FIG. 9 shows a bottomroller 500 incorporating two different variations (A and B), it shouldbe understood that both uniform and different variations may be used.

The portions 520 having the metallurgically bonded, wear-resistantcoating 522 are shown as a channel 530 in the body 532 of thesubstantially cylindrical regions 504. In one exemplary embodiment, thechannels 530 have been filled with the metallurgically bonded,wear-resistant coating 522 and optionally machined to a desired surfaceposition and roughness, e.g., machined level to the outer surface 502,such as the outer surface of the substantially cylindrical regions 504.In addition, the metallurgically bonded, wear-resistant coating 522 canalso optionally be applied directly to the outer surface 502 of theas-formed undercarriage track chain bottom roller 500, without anypremachining such as premachining to form a deposit area, e.g., achannel 530.

Optionally, exemplary embodiments can include the metallurgicallybonded, wear-resistant coating 522 at any portion of the substantiallycylindrical regions 504, including the entire length of the outersurface of one or more of the substantially cylindrical regions 504.Further optionally, exemplary embodiments can include a metallurgicallybonded, wear-resistant coating 540 at any portion of the flange portion506, including the entire length of the outer surface of one or more ofthe flange portions 508. When the metallurgically bonded, wear-resistantcoating 540 is included at any portion of the flange portion 508, themetallurgically bonded, wear-resistant coating 540 can be a separatecoating from the metallurgically bonded, wear-resistant coating 522associated with the substantially cylindrical regions 504 (as shown invariation A), or the metallurgically bonded, wear-resistant coating onthe flange can be continuous, at least at the outer surface 502, withthe metallurgically bonded, wear-resistant coating 522 associated withthe substantially cylindrical regions 504. In addition, themetallurgically bonded, wear-resistant coating 540 can also optionallybe applied directly to the outer surface 502 of the as-formedundercarriage track chain bottom roller 500, without any premachiningsuch as premachining to form a deposit area, e.g., a channel 542.

In the proposed modified manufacturing process for a bottom roller, thebottom roller is undercut by a small amount (generally 1-2 mm dependingon the thickness of wear coating required) in the vicinity of theportions of the bottom roller which come in contact with the track chainlink, e.g., the wear surfaces such as portions of the substantiallycylindrical regions and/or portions of the flange portion, and a slurrycoating is applied to the machined surface to a thickness such that,when fused, the slurry surface would coincide with the desired surface,i.e., the surface obtained before undercutting. The fused slurry coatingforms a strong metallurgical bonding and does not spall off the steelsubstrate even on heating and cooling, as in the hardening process orwhen subjected to severe impact loads during service.

In a still further exemplary embodiment, the undercarriage assemblycomponent having a metallurgically bonded wear resistant coating is atrack chain link. FIG. 10 shows a schematic perspective view of a firstside of an exemplary track chain link showing areas having hard facingapplied. In the exemplary embodiments, the track chain link 600comprises a body 602 formed of hardened steel, a mounting surface 604 ona first edge 606 of the body 602 and a contact surface 608 on a secondedge 610 of the body 602. The mounting surface 604 includes at least oneopening 612 for an attachment device, e.g., an attachment device topermanently or removably affix the track chain link to a shoe of a trackof a track-type machine as shown, for example, in FIG. 1. The contactsurface 608 is opposite the mounting surface 604 and includes asubstantially planar region 614 extending a distance along the secondedge 610 forming a wear surface.

At least portions of the wear surface, e.g., portions 620 of thesubstantially planar region 614, have a metallurgically bonded,wear-resistant coating 622 comprising a fused hard metal alloycomprising at least 60% by weight iron, cobalt, nickel or alloysthereof. The portions 620 having the metallurgically bonded,wear-resistant coating 622 have a channel 630 in the body 602 of thetrack chain link 600. In one exemplary embodiment, the channels 630 havebeen filled with the metallurgically bonded, wear-resistant coating 622and optionally machined to a desired surface position and roughness,e.g., machined level to the substantially planar region 614. Inaddition, the metallurgically bonded, wear-resistant coating 622 canalso optionally be applied directly to the outer surface of theas-formed track chain link 600, prior to core hardening, and withoutcarburizing. The application can be done without any premachining suchas premachining to form a deposit area, e.g., a channel 630.

In the proposed modified manufacturing process for a track chain link,the forged link surface which comes in contact with the roller surfaceis undercut by a small amount (generally 1-2 mm depending on thethickness of wear coating required) and a slurry coating is applied tothe machined surface to a thickness such that, when fused, the slurrysurface would coincide with the desired surface, i.e., the surfaceobtained before undercutting. The fused slurry coating forms a strongmetallurgical bonding and does not spall off the steel substrate even onheating and cooling, as in the hardening process or when subjected tosevere impact loads during service.

A slurry coated link can optionally then be through hardened byquenching and tempered to the required bulk hardness for improving themechanical strength of the link. The substrate below the coated surfaceis optionally again hardened by induction hardening to increase thesubstrate hardness to HRC 50-60, more particularly, 55-60 HRC which ishigher than the bulk hardness of the quenched and tempered link steel.This adds further to the wear life of the link. Thus, the wear life of acoated and heat treated (by through-hardening and induction hardening)link can be the sum of the wear life of the slurry coating and the wearlife of the induction hardened steel substrate below the coating. Asimilar observation can be made for other coated and heat treated parts,such as the pin bushing and pin of the pin bushing joint and theundercarriage track chain bottom roller. This sum may be 4 to 6 timesthat of the uncoated metal part depending upon the slurry coatingthickness used. Normally not more than 1-2 mm thick coating may berequired to achieve wear/corrosion objectives. Though macroscopicsurface cracks tend to form in the coating during the through hardeningand induction hardening processes, the coating does not detach from thesubstrate. This is due to the strong metallurgical bonding of thecoating to the substrate. The cracks help to relieve stresses formedduring fusing of the coating. However, such cracks are less likely to beobserved if the coated part is not heat treated (quenched).

In exemplary embodiments, the wear-resistant coating is a fused alloythat is substantially harder and more wear-resistant than the steeltypically used for tools, gears, engine parts, farm implements, and soforth, e.g., 1045 grade steel even in the hardened conditioned. Further,the wear-resistant coating preferably contains substantially noinclusions, such that the wear-resistant coating is uniformly dense andless brittle and more durable than that obtained in the prior work, suchas Alessi, U.S. Pat. No. Re. 27,851.

Commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 5,879,743, the entire contents of which areincorporated herein by reference, discloses such a wear-resistant alloy.Additionally, slurry and coating techniques incorporating the slurrythat are suitable for use in the methods and devices disclosed hereinare disclosed. For example, the fusible hard metal alloy in exemplaryembodiments is preferably at least 60% of a transition metal of GroupVIII of the Periodic Table, such as iron, cobalt, or nickel. However,the hard metal alloy may be based on other metals so long as the alloyshave the physical properties stated above and would form a metallurgicalbond with, in this case, the ferrous substrate. Minor components (about0.1 to about 20 wt. %) typically are boron, carbon, chromium, iron (innickel and cobalt-based alloys), manganese, nickel (in iron andcobalt-based alloys), silicon, tungsten, molybdenum, one or more carbideforming elements, or combinations thereof. Elements in trace amounts(less than about 0.1 wt. %), such as sulfur, may be present as deminimis, contaminants. In exemplary embodiments, the alloy has a VickersHardness (HV) above 950 HV, and more particularly, from 950 to 1250 HV.The hard metal alloy has a fusion temperature which is lower than themelting point of the metal that is to be coated, e.g., about 1110° C. orless, and is preferably, between about 900° C. and about 1200° C.,preferably up to about 1100° C.

Methods for hardfacing with a wear-resistant coating a metal surface ofa part formed from a non-carburized metal are provided.

A slurry of a hard metal alloy is coated on an area of an uncarburizedpart and a metallurgical bond is formed between the non-carburizedmaterial and the coated unfused slurry by fusing the hard metal alloy,thereby forming the wear-resistant coating.

Alternatively, an exemplary method prepares the surface of the metalpart, i.e., the surface of the track pin bushing, by decarburizing thesurface for a suitable period of time to reduce and, at long timeperiods, remove carbon from the surface of the metal part to a desireddepth. In one aspect, decarburization occurs in the surface layer to adepth such that the subsequent metallurgical bond only occurs withnoncarburized metal. For example, decarburization of the carburizedlayer occurs to a depth of 0.002-0.003 inch (50-75 microns) to a carbonlevel of 0.4-0.6 wt. %. In another aspect, decarburization occurs to adepth of at least the thickness of the carburization layer+0.5 mm, i.e.,to 3.0 mm for a typical track pin bushing that is carburized to a depthof 2.5 mm. In another aspect, the carburized depth is up to 0.010 inchesand the decarburization occurs up to 0.015 inches.

In examples where the slurry has been applied to a carburized substrate,e.g., a carburized ferrous substrate with an increased concentration ofcarbon in a surface layer relative to an interior layer, a metallurgicalreaction between carbon and the slurry has been observed. In themetallurgical reaction, carbon from the substrate diffuses into thecoating, increasing the carbon content at the interface. The increasedcarbon at the interface depresses the melting point of the slurry alloyin the interfacial region, e.g., the interfacial layer between theslurry alloy and the substrate, resulting in the slurry alloy sloughingoff the substrate. To mitigate this effect, the above procedure whereinnoncarburized material is exposed has been used. In another approach,the surface of the substrate to which the slurry is applied is keptsubstantially horizontal, e.g., within 5 to 10° of horizontal, duringfusing so as to minimize sloughing during the fusing time, e.g., duringthe several minutes at the fusing temperature (not including thetemperature ramp-up and cool down time).

The slurry is aqueous-based and can be formed of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)and a fusible, hard metal alloy in the form of a finely divided powder.Examples of a suitable slurry are disclosed in commonly owned U.S. Pat.No. 5,879,743, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein byreference. As discussed herein and disclosed in the '743 patent, thehard metal alloy can be a transition metal of Group VIII of the PeriodicTable, such as iron, cobalt, nickel, or alloys thereof. In an exemplaryembodiment, the hard metal alloy is in the form of a finely dividedpowder having a sufficiently small particle size to form a uniformslurry. Typical particle sizes range from about 90 mesh to about 400mesh and may be finer than 400 mesh. Preferably, the average particlesize is finer than about 115 mesh and, most preferably, finer than about200 mesh. The powder can be a mixture of powders of different particlesizes. Also, one or more suspension agents and one or more deflocculantscan optionally be added to the slurry.

Further, the slurry used is prepared by thoroughly mixing the powdered,hard metal alloy with the polyvinyl alcohol binder solution to give thedesired alloy to binder solution weight ratio, as described in commonlyowned U.S. Pat. No. 5,879,743, the entire contents of which areincorporated herein by reference. Other additives to the slurry caninclude suspension agents and deflocculants.

The slurry can be applied in any suitable manner. For example, theslurry can be spray coated, spun cast, dipped, poured, or spread, i.e.,applied with a brush or a doctor blade.

In one exemplary embodiment of a method for hardfacing a metal surfacewith a wear-resistant coating, a substantially uniform aqueous slurry ofpolyvinyl alcohol and a fusible, hard metal alloy in the form of afinely divided powder is formed and coated on the metal surface. Theaqueous slurry is then dried, preferably by applying external heat, toleave a solid layer of the fusible, hard metal alloy in a polyvinylalcohol matrix on the metal surface. The steps of coating the metalsurface and drying the slurry to leave a solid layer may be repeated oneor more times to build up a thicker coating of the slurry material.

In another exemplary embodiment of a method for hardfacing a metalsurface with a wear-resistant coating, the metal surface is coated withan aqueous polyvinyl alcohol solution and a substantially uniform layerof a fusible, hard metal alloy in the form of a finely divided powder isdistributed onto the coating of the polyvinyl alcohol solution beforethe polyvinyl alcohol solution dries. The steps of coating the metalsurface, distributing the fusible hard metal alloy, and drying themixture of polyvinyl alcohol, binder and alloy powder to leave a solidlayer may be repeated one or more times to build up a thicker coating ofthe slurry material.

In an exemplary embodiment of the method of the present invention, thepreferred procedure for applying a slurry to the metal surface to becoated depends on the shape and size of the metal item having the metalsurface as well as the ratio of hard metal alloy and the concentrationof the polyvinyl alcohol binder solution. Typically, the unfused slurryis poured, brushed, or sprayed on the metal surface to be protected, orthe item having the metal surface to be protected can be dipped into theunfused slurry.

Dipping, pouring, and brushing is useful for forming relatively thickcoatings, e.g., greater than 1 mm, in a short period of time, althoughrepeated spaying can also be used to build up a thick layer over alonger period of time. For these procedures, preferably the ratio ofhard metal alloy to PVA solution is in the range of about 4:1 to about8:1 and the concentration of PVA solution is about 1% to about 15% PVAby weight. For example, 0500/0250 and 0600/0250 or similar slurries aresuitable for this procedure. The representation xxxx/yyyy indicates theslurry parameters, where xxxx=weight ratio of powdered alloy topolyvinyl alcohol and yyyy=weight percent of polyvinyl alcohol presentin the aqueous solution as a binder. Note that a decimal point isimplicit after the first two digits in the representation. Thus, 0500represents 5.0. Thick slurry compositions, i.e., a high ratio of alloyto PVA solution, can be applied as a squeezable paste, or can be rolledinto tapes for bonding to the metal surface. For these procedures,preferably the ratio of alloy to PVA solution is in the range of about8:1 to about 15:1 by weight and the concentration of PVA solution isabout 2% to about 15% PVA by weight. In the above procedures, specialadditives can function as dispersants, suspending agents, andplasticizers.

In addition to the above methods of applying the coating, paste and tapemethods can be used for thick coatings. However, these procedures aredifficult to adapt to a high speed production environment. Accordingly,when a thick coating is desired, a reliable and economical alternativeto paste and tape is a multiple coating procedure which producesuniformly thick slurry coatings even on large surfaces. The requiredthickness can be built by repeated spraying with intervening dryingcycles. The drying may be done at about 80° C. to about 100° C. in, forexample, a forced circulation air oven. A 0500/0250 slurry isparticularly suitable for this method, though other formulations may beused.

The thickness of the coated unfused slurry can be adjusted by ashrinkage factor to result in a desired final thickness aftermetallurgical bonding, i.e., the final thickness can be flush to thesurface or diameter, protruding from, or recessed into the surfacediameter of the metal piece. For example, the slurry described hereinwas found to have a shrinkage factor of about 0.55±0.05. Accordingly,the thickness of the slurry before fusing can be adjusted according tothe shrinkage factor to result in a desired final thickness of thewear-resistant coating, e.g. an unfused slurry layer of 1.67 to 2.0times the final thickness is used.

Bonding is the step of forming a metallurgical bond between the driedslurry coating and the metal part, i.e., a selected portion of thenon-carburized or decarburized metal part, or a selected portion of themetal part that has been decarburized. For example, the metal surfacecoated with the layer of fusible, hard metal alloy in the polyvinylalcohol matrix or coated with the aqueous polyvinyl alcohol solutionwith the layer of fusible, hard metal alloy can be heated to the fusingtemperature of the hard metal alloy under a protective atmosphere untilthe hard metal alloy has fused onto the metal surface. Heating occurs ina controlled atmosphere, i.e., an inert or reducing atmosphere,excluding nitrogen which nitrides the alloy and can hinder alloy fusion.For example, a partial pressure of 100 to 500 μm of He or Ar in a vacuumfurnace or a slight positive pressure of about a few inches of waterabove atmospheric pressure of Ar, He or H₂ in a belt furnace aresuitable for use during fusing. Subsequently, the metal surface with thefused hardfacing is cooled to ambient temperature.

In one example of the bonding process, the track pin bushing is heatedto a temperature of about 1065° C. to 1110° C. The heating is done in abelt type conveyor furnace at a hydrogen pressure slightly aboveatmospheric, and the track pin bushing is held at the desired fusingtemperature for approximately 2 to 5 minutes and then cooled

In further exemplary embodiments, after metallurgically bonding theslurry to the metal part to form the wear-resistant coating, theremaining metal of the metal part can be hardened to a desired hardnessby quenching. For example, the remaining carburized metal can behardened by a thermal treatment that increases hardness as compared tothe uncarburized metal. In an exemplary embodiment where the metal partis a track pin bushing, the remaining metal corresponds to at least oneof the inner surface of the track pin bushing, the first end of thetrack pin bushing, and/or the second end of the track pin bushing.

Experiments were conducted to study the effect of carburization onslurry bond formation. Small low carbon steel track pin bushings with a10 mm wall thickness were carburized and air cooled. The carburizationlayer was approximately 2 to 2.5 mm in thickness. These samples werethen reheated to 1600° F., in a decarburizing, i.e., low carbonpotential, atmosphere for 1, 2, and 3 hours resulting in decarburizedlayers of thickness 0.0005-0.0007, 0.001-0.0012, and 0.001-0.0015inches, respectively. The decarburized samples were slurry coated with afusible, hard metal slurry and bonded following the procedures outlinedabove. Additional details of slurry coating and bonding can be found inU.S. Pat. No. 5,879,743, the contents of which are herein incorporatedby reference.

Subsequent to coating and bonding, the steel/slurry interface wasexamined in an optical microscope. The integrity of the bond improved asthe decarburization time increased, suggesting that the steel alloy withincreased depth of decarburization and/or the steel alloy with the lowercarbon content more readily bonded with the slurry. However, thebushings showed evidence of flow of slurry coating during fusing due togravity, though the tendency to flow decreased with the increase in thedecarburization layer thickness.

These results indicate that decarburization can be used prior to slurrycoating to improve bonding results. However, the decarburization processhas at least two disadvantages: Decarburization on a partial surface(for example, only on an outer diameter and not on an inner diameterand/or the end faces) is not practical, and the time required forsufficient decarburization to occur, i.e., for an adequate noncarburizedlayer to form on which to coat the unfused slurry is upwards of severalhours, perhaps as long as 7-10 hrs, which can be economically unviable.

However, the coating process can desirably be carried out on a materialprior to any carburization, as described more fully herein. In anotherexemplary method involving removal of carburized material, carburizedmaterial is removed by, for example, machining, cutting, lathing,grinding, and or polishing, to expose a non-carburized layer. Inexperiments corresponding to this method, four track pin bushings hadtheir outer diameters reduced by machining. The amounts removed were3.00, 3.35, 3.75, 4.00 mm, respectively. The samples were then coated inthe exposed area with a hard metal slurry and bonded following theprocedures outlined above.

Visual examination of the bonding region indicated a good coating bondwith no gravity flow during fusing. Optical microscopy of sectionedbushings showed a steel/slurry coating interfacial bonding region withfew or no inclusions and with good metallurgically bonding for allsamples. Removal of a carburized layer sufficient to expose anuncarburized layer, in this case approximately 3 mm of material, wastherefore concluded to result in good bond formation. This conclusionwas further substantiated by a third experiment in which a carburizedtrack pin bushing was subject to a normalizing heat treatment and a 3 mmdepth was machined from the outer diameter of the cross-section of themachined bushing. Optical microscopic examination showed that thecarburized layer was completely removed by this machining and theexposed surface had a microstructure corresponding to theprecarburization microstructure.

In a still further experiment involving removal of carburized material,track pin bushings with 2 mm carburized case were machined on a portionof the axial length of the outer surface to a depth of 2.5 mm to removethe carburized case and the area was slurry coated. Coating wasaccomplished by the use of a hand-held sprayer and a hand-operatedfixture to obtain a substantially uniform coating thickness. The handoperated fixture resembled a spindle on which the pieces were axiallymounted and a hand crank for manual operation, although machine poweredrotation could be used as well as automated techniques such as computercontrolled equipment, i.e., rotation equipment, spraying equipment,robotics, and so forth. The unfused slurry surface was then machined ona lathe to make it smooth and concentric with the bore of the track pinbushing. Slurry thickness before fusing was adjusted to yield 1 mm or1.5 mm fused thickness, based on the shrinkage factor, i.e., theempirically derived relationship that the fused thickness is about 0.55times the unfused thickness. This machining operation, as was foundafter fusing, also helped produce a coating with a smooth surface anduniform thickness.

The track pin bushings with machined and cooled surfaces were fusedusing a suitable time-at-temperature (T-t) cycle. In exemplaryembodiments, the T-t cycle is conducted in a vacuum furnace or a beltfurnace under a controlled atmosphere, i.e., an inert or reducingatmosphere, excluding nitrogen which nitrides the alloy. A partialpressure of He or Ar in a vacuum furnace or a slight positive pressure,i.e., about a few inches of water above atmospheric pressure, of Ar, Heor H₂ in a belt furnace are good examples. The track pin bushings wereplaced with the axes vertical in the furnace chamber, and the maximumtemperature and the time at maximum temperature were carefully selectedand monitored to prevent downward gravity flow of fused semi-liquidslurry metal.

An example of a suitable T-t cycle is as follows: gradually heat thetrack pin bushing at 10 to 15° C. per minute to 1080 to 1110° C., holdthe temperature for 1 to 5 minutes, preferably 1 to 2 minutes, and coolthe track pin bushing at any desired cooling rate, i.e., using arecirculating fan. A still further example of a suitable T-t cycle heatsthe track pin bushing at 8 to 10° C. per minute to 1065 to 1110° C.

Visual observation of representative samples of wear-resistant coatedtrack pin bushings prepared by the exemplary method involving removal ofcarburized material revealed that the coating surface was smooth,representing the surface finish of the machined slurry surface beforefusing. Further, the coating on the track pin bushings fused and bondedto the substrate without any noticeable gravity flow. Measurements usinga micrometer showed that the track pin bushings did not undergo anynoticeable distortion. In a follow-on investigation, a wear-resistantcoated track pin bushing was ground using a silicon carbide grindingwheel and the ground surface examined under an optical microscope. Thewear-resistant coating was found to be free or nearly free fromporosity. Similarly, a cross section of a coating examined under theoptical microscope showed little or no porosity in the interior of thecoating.

The wear resistance was also evaluated for the wear-resistant coatingsused for track pin bushings. Rubber wheel-sand abrasion tests revealedthat the fused slurry coating wears at about ¼th to ⅙th the rate ofquenched 1080 steel. Thus, a ⅓ to ½ mm fused slurry displayed, as afirst approximation, the wear equivalent to a 2 to 3 mm thick layer ofhardened 1080 steel.

As a result of the above series of experiments, the followinggeneralized procedures for manufacture of slurry coated track pinbushings with a final outer diameter of D mm was determined where thereis selected removal of carburized material:

-   -   1. Machine the track pin bushing per part drawing for the        particular application and/or environment of use except that the        outer diameter is increased beyond the desired final outer        diameter to allow removal of material. In an exemplary        embodiment of the track pin bushing described herein, the outer        diameter is D+3.0 mm.    -   2. Carburize at least a portion of the track pin bushing.    -   3. Remove material from at least a portion of the carburized        surface. In this example the carburized surface is the outer        surface. Thus, at least a portion of the outer diameter surface        is removed to at least expose a non-carburized layer. In        addition, the outer diameter can be optionally further reduced        to accommodate the desired thickness of the wear resistant        coating. In the track pin bushing of the preferred exemplary        embodiment, the at least portion of the outer diameter after        removal of the material is D-3.0 mm. Thus, this step removes        approximately 6 mm of material from an area on the carburized        outer diameter surface.    -   4. Coat the exposed surface of the track pin bushing with the        hard metal slurry to a thickness (before fusing) to obtain a        desired outer diameter before fusing. For example, coat the        exposed surface of the track pin bushing to a thickness of 2.75        mm, i.e., thickness equal to a diameter of (D−3 mm)+2.75×2. This        corresponds to an outer diameter of D+2.5 mm.    -   5. Fuse the slurry to form a metallurgical bond between the        exposed non-carburized layer and the slurry. In the case of the        preferred embodiment of the track pin bushing described herein,        the fused slurry thickness was 2.75×0.55 or 1.5 mm and the final        bushing diameter was D, the desired diameter. Here the factor        0.55 is an experimentally established shrinkage factor for the        slurry coating thickness.

In a further generalized procedure, the following relationships,referring to FIG. 11, were determined for a track pin bushing:

R ₁ =R−X+Y+0.5  Eq. 1

R ² =R−X  Eq. 2

R ₃ =R+0.82X  Eq. 3

wherein R is the final finished radius of the track pin bushing, i.e.,R=R₂+X, R₁ is the outer radius of the track pin bushing as carburized,R₂ is the outer radius of the track pin bushing after removal of thecarburized layer to expose a non-carburized layer and assuming themachined depth is 0.5 mm greater than the carburized depth, i.e.,R₂=R₁−(Y+0.5), R₃ is the outer radius of the track pin bushing afterslurry coating and before fusing, X is the thickness of the slurrycoating after fusing assuming a shrinkage factor of 0.55 for the slurrycoating during the fusing process, i.e., X=0.55(R₃−R₂), and Y is thethickness of the carburized layer. All measurements are in millimeters(mm).

From the above, Equations 1-3 give the outer radius of the carburizedtrack pin bushing, the outer radius after machining and the outer radiusafter slurry coating but before fusing, respectively, in terms of finaltrack pin bushing outer surface radius R, if values of thickness offused slurry layer, X, and carburized depth, Y, are known.

However, the coating process can desirably be carried out on a steelmaterial prior to or without any carburization. By coating theuncarburized part and then hardening by e.g., induction hardening, theneed to decarburize or to machine parts to remove carburized material,are eliminated. As a result, the coating can be applied to, e.g., amedium carbon alloy steel. Following induction hardening, a coatinglayer having a Vickers hardness of greater than 950 HV is obtained.Below this coating is a layer of near-resistant steel with a hardnessvalue of 55-60 HRC.

In another exemplary embodiment, the undercarriage assembly componenthaving a metallurgically bonded wear resistant coating is a trackpin/bushing joint and the separate components of a track pin/bushingjoint, e.g., a track pin and an inner diameter of a track pin pushing.FIG. 4 shows a schematic perspective view of an assembled pin bushingjoint including a track pin bushing with a track pin inserted in thebore. FIG. 5 shows a schematic perspective view of a disassembled pinbushing joint. A track pin/bushing joint has mating surfaces includingan outer surface of the pin and the inner diameter surface (or boresurface) of the bushing.

In the present invention, the bore surface of the bushing and outersurface of the pin are provided with a coating harder than sand usingthe following steps:

1. The mating surfaces are cleaned and grit blasted and a slurrycontaining highly alloyed iron based powder or any functionally similarpowder is applied as described in greater detail in the prior patent(Revankar; U.S. Pat. No. 5,879,743 Mar. 9, 1999).2. The slurry coating is then machined to the required pre-fusedimensions to take into account the shrinkage of the coating duringfusing, and then fused in a suitable furnace using appropriate fusingatmosphere. Either a vacuum furnace with a partial pressure of argon ora belt type furnace with hydrogen at a slight positive pressure arerecommended.3. The fused pin and the bushing may be heat treated if necessary todevelop required mechanical properties of the substrate steel. The pinand is bushing with the fused coating (with or without heat treatment)are then machined to the required final dimensions. The substrata steelmay be machined using conventional machining tools and machiningmethods. But the coating surface requires at least a silicon carbidegrinding wheel, preferably a diamond grinding wheel with appropriatebond type and grit size, to produce smooth bearing and sliding surfaces.

Since the coating is metallurgically bonded to the steel substrate thereis no risk of debonding of coating even under the effect of high contactloads which are quite common in the heavy equipment. This benefit cannotbe claimed by many of the currently available surface modificationtechnologies.

The coating can be applied to any thickness desired unlike many othercoatings or platings. This gives the freedom to apply thicker coatingsto correspondingly increase the joint life. The latest hard coatingssuch as thin films applied using physical vapor deposition (3-5 microns)or chemical vapor deposition (10-25 microns), or electroplating ofchrome (5-50 microns) or electroless nickel plating (2-20 microns), orpractical thicknesses, have thickness limitations and are therefore notsuitable for, e.g., long life P/B joints deployed in the heavy equipmentindustry.

Slurry coating can be easily applied to bores of long bushings withoutthe line-of-sight limitations associated with PVD and thermal sprayprocesses.

The coating technology permits the parts to be heat treated after thecoating is fused without detriment to coating or its bond to thesubstrate. Most other surface coatings will be destroyed during suchheat treatment.

This coating process has no environmental restrictions unlike hardchrome is plating.

The alloy composition is chosen such that the fused coating has ahardness much higher than that of sand particles. Thus in the presentcase an alloy powder is used which gives a coating with a hardness of800 to 1100 HV which is much higher than the hardness of sand particles(with an average hardness value of about 700 to 800 HV). Thus the sandparticles which seep into the P/B joint do not cause the same extent ofabrasion damage that the same sand particles would do to a carburizedand quenched surface of currently used P/B joints. It is more likely thevery fine sand particles will tend to polish the coating surface ratherthan abrade it severely. Since the sand particles would not damage thecoating at the same rate at which they would a carburized and quenchedsurface, it would not be necessary to purge the grease as frequently.Since the coated surface will wear only much more slowly, the life ofthe joint would be extended considerably.

Experimental Work:

Cold rolled steel tubing, OD-95.25 mm (3.75 inch) and ID-76.20 mm (3.00inch), was cut to make 4-50 mm, and 2-100 mm long bushings. The bore ofthe bushings was lightly machined to remove the mill scale, and coatedwith slurry, e.g., the slurry disclosed herein. The ‘green’ coating wasthen machined to produce a smooth surface concentric with the bushingaxis. The thickness of the machined coating was varied to producedifferent thicknesses of fused coating, based on the previouslyestablished relationship between the unfused and fused coatingthicknesses.

The bushings with machined ‘green’ coating were placed with their axesvertical, in a belt type hydrogen furnace and the coating was fusedwithout any difficulty; the fused coating did not flow down the steelsurface (substrate) due to gravity and also it did not shrink away fromthe steel. The as-fused surface of the coating was smooth. The fusedcoating thicknesses varied from 1.30 to 1.875 mm depending on the“green” thicknesses selected.

Efforts to grind the fused coatings on the bore of the bushings usingaluminum oxide and silicon carbide wheels were not successful. Thematerial removal rate was too low and the wheels appeared to laborwithout much cutting action, and produced a chattering sound indicatingthe grit was not hard enough to cut efficiently into Gopalite. Next, CBNwheel was used and found adequate to grind the coating. But it tended to“load up” and the grinding efficiency decreased quickly with time.Diamond wheel gave the best performance; it did not produce chatter andmachined the coating at a much faster rate than CBN, about twice asfast. Diamond wheels are 15% more expensive than CBN but are definitelypreferable for production machining. Grinding outer diameter surfacescould be achieved with silicon carbide grinding wheels since largediameter pieces could be used to take advantage of the larger kineticenergy of the abrasive particles, however, CBN and diamond are stillpreferred.

In one exemplary embodiment of a method for hardfacing a metal surfacewith a wear-resistant coating, a substantially uniform aqueous slurry ofpolyvinyl alcohol and a fusible, hard metal alloy in the form of afinely divided powder is formed and coated on the metal surface. Theaqueous slurry is then dried, preferably by applying external heat, toleave a solid layer of the fusible, hard metal alloy in a polyvinylalcohol matrix on the metal surface. The steps of coating the metalsurface and drying the slurry to leave a solid layer may be repeated oneor more times to build up a thicker coating of the slurry material.

In another exemplary embodiment of a method for hardfacing a metalsurface with a wear-resistant coating, the metal surface is coated withan aqueous polyvinyl alcohol solution and a substantially uniform layerof a fusible, hard metal alloy in the form of a finely divided powder isdistributed onto the coating of the polyvinyl alcohol solution beforethe polyvinyl alcohol solution dries. The steps of coating the metalsurface, distributing the fusible hard metal alloy, and drying theslurry or the solution coating to leave a solid layer may be repeatedone or more times to build up a thicker coating of the slurry material.

In an exemplary embodiment of the method of the present invention, thepreferred procedure for applying a slurry to the metal surface to becoated depends on the shape and size of the metal item having the metalsurface as well as the ratio of hard metal alloy and the concentrationof the polyvinyl alcohol binder solution. Typically, the unfused slurryis poured, brushed, or sprayed on the metal surface to be protected, orthe item having the metal surface to be protected can be dipped into theunfused slurry.

For example, when the metal part such as a bottom roller, pin bushingand pin of a pin bushing joint, and track chain link, is formed of amedium carbon steel, the coated metal part can be quenched to harden thesteel, for example, by heating to about 840° C. for a 1045 steel andsoaking at the is quenching temperature, in this case 840° C., for atime period which depends on the mass and wall thickness of the part,and quenching in a suitable quenching medium, preferably a liquid. Thequenched steel part can be tempered at the desired temperature between250° C. and 500° C. to achieve the required bulk hardness for improvingthe mechanical strength of the metal part and improving the wearresistance of the body of the metal part. The substrate below the coatedsurface may optionally again be hardened by induction hardening, ifnecessary, to increase the substrate hardness to approximately HRC 55-60or more, which is higher than the bulk hardness of the quenched andtempered roller. This higher hardness of the coating substrate addsfurther to the wear life of the metal part and/or wear surfaces of themetal part such as a roller contact surface or a track chain linkcontact surface. Thus the wear life of a coated and heat treated (bythrough-hardening followed by induction hardening) metal part is the sumof the wear life of the slurry coating and the wear life of theinduction hardened steel substrate below the coating. This sum may be 4to 6 or more times that of the uncoated and quenched metal partdepending upon the wear/corrosion objectives. Though macroscopic surfacecracks tend to form in the coating during the through hardening andinduction hardening process, the coating does not detach itself from thesubstrate. This is due, at least in part, to the strong metallurgicalbonding of the coating to the substrate. The cracks help to relievestresses formed during fusing of the coating. However, such cracks arenot generally observed if the coated part is not heat treated(quenched).

In another embodiment is disclosed a method of applying a wear-resistantand corrosion-resistant metallurgical coating as described herein to thewear surfaces of the rings of a mechanical face seal. One ring of anembodiment of such a mechanical face seal prior to application of themetallurgical coating is shown in perspective view in FIG. 12. The ring1200 can be viewed as having an axis 1202 passing through its center,and having a radially inner surface 1204, a radially outer surface 1206,an axially inner lip 1208, an axially outer lip 1210, and a groove 1212disposed between the inner lip 1208 and the outer lip 1210. The edge ofaxially inner lip 1208 is intersected by surface 1214, which extendsfrom radially outer surface 1206 to radially inner surface 1204. Surface1214 will, as a result of the coating method disclosed herein, be coatedwith the metallurgical wear-resistant and corrosion-resistant coating,and after finishing, will be paired with an opposing surface of acorresponding opposing face seal ring, as indicated in the drawingfigures described herein. Groove 1212 is adapted to receive anelastomeric ring, which forms a mechanical seal between the rings of themechanical face seal and any associated housing. Such elastomeric rings,as is known in the art, also provide for transmission of torque betweenthe mechanical face seal ring and the corresponding housing ring orbore.

The ring 1200, prior to coating can be produced by existing methods, andsuitable rings include those made by Federal-Mogul Goetze or BercoS.p.A. Alternatively, rings can be manufactured using base metalcomponents such as conventional steels that are less expensive than,e.g., specialized chilled cast iron used by some seal ringmanufacturers.

In an embodiment of the process disclosed herein the ring 1200 ismodified to form coated ring 1300 shown in FIG. 13 by forming on surface1214 a metallurgically bonded wear resistant coating 1216, having wearsurface 1218. This coating 1216 may extend from radially outer surface1206 to radially inner surface 1204, or may extend for only a portion ofthis distance. As an example, such a coating may be applied as a layerof a slurry containing a fusible, hard metal alloy with at least 60%iron, cobalt, nickel, or alloys thereof in the form of a finely dividedpowder, polyvinyl alcohol, a suspension agent, and a deflocculant. Theslurry is then fused to form the wear-resistant coating. Suitableslurries and coating techniques are described in U.S. Pat. No.5,879,743, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein byreference, as well as disclosed above.

FIG. 14 shows a sectional view of an embodiment of the coated ring ofFIG. 13. In this embodiment, it can be seen that coating 1216 does notcompletely extend along surface 1214 from radially outer surface 1206 toradially inner surface 1204, leaving small portions of ring surface 1214uncoated. It will be recognized that the location of such uncoatedsurfaces can be varied, and that such uncoated surfaces can beeliminated entirely by having coating 1216 completely cover surface1214, and that such embodiments will function in a similar manner tothat shown in FIG. 14.

The fused metallurgical coating that results from the coating processdisclosed herein can be ground, lapped, polished and/or subjected toother finishing steps in order to obtain the desired smoothness ofsurface suitable for the wear surface of a face seal. Because of thecoating process disclosed herein can be used to form a relatively thickcoating, it is possible to carry out these finishing processes whileleaving a substantial wear reservoir of coated surface, so that theresulting seal is both wear-resistant and corrosion resistant, unlikethe thin coatings previously attempted and described above.

FIG. 15 shows a perspective view of an embodiment of an assembledmechanical face seal assembly constructed of two opposing coated rings,such that the coated portions 1216, 1216′ meet and form opposing wearsurfaces. Disposed in grooves (visible in FIG. 15 as groove 1212′) areelastomeric rings (not visible) surrounded by housings 1502, 1502′.

The disposition of the elastomeric rings, as well as the relationshipbetween opposing coated rings can be seen in FIG. 16, which is a crosssectional view of another embodiment of an assembled mechanical faceseal assembly. Rings 1600, 1600′ are disposed in an opposing, coaxialrelationship with each other, such that uncoated edges 1614, 1614′ areopposed, and such that coatings 1616 and 1616′ are directly facing eachother with wear surfaces 1618 and 1618′ in at least partial contact.Radially inner surfaces 1604 and 1604′ form the inner surface of themechanical face seal assembly. Radially outer surfaces 1606 and 1606′are in contact with elastomeric rings 1618 and 1618′, respectively.These rings are, in turn, in contact with inner surfaces of housings1620 and 1620′, respectively. The mechanical coupling of housings 1620and 1620′ to the associated rings to 1600 and 1600′, respectively, bythe elastomeric rings provides both a physical seal between the externalenvironment and the internal region defined by the face seal assembly,and a mechanism for the transfer of torque between the housings and theface seal rings. These rings can rotate relative to each other while atleast portions of wear surfaces 1618 and 1618′ is are in contact witheach other.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 16, the wear surfaces 1618 and1618′ are in contact in the radially outer region of the seal ring, anddiverge in a radially inward direction (i.e., toward the ring axis). Asthe wear occurs, this region of contact will extend radially inwards,until eventually the entire wear surface of each of the rings is incontact. The thickness of the coating provides a wear reservoir thatlengthens the service life of the mechanical face seal, and allows thebody of the seal ring to be constructed of a conventional steel, whichdecreases the cost of the seal assembly.

The divergence of the wear surfaces allows lubricants from inside theseal ring to reach the region of the wear surface that is in contact.Such lubrication is particularly useful when hard, wear-resistantsurfaces like those described herein come into contact with each other.In this regard, tribological testing using the ASTM G-77 Block-on-Ringtest protocol indicates that two wear surfaces that have been coatedusing the process disclosed herein and lubricated with a lithium greasehave a coefficient of friction that is equivalent to, or better than,that obtained for wear surfaces made of hardened steel and lubricatedwith an oil.

Although the present invention has been described in connection withpreferred embodiments thereof, it will be appreciated by those skilledin the art that additions, deletions, modifications, and substitutionsnot specifically described may be made without departing from the spiritand scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

1. A method for producing a wear-resistant mechanical face seal ring,comprising: obtaining an uncoated metal ring, comprising: a radiallyinner surface; a radially outer surface forming an axially inner lip, anaxially outer lip, and a groove therebetween; a coatable surfaceextending between an edge of the axially to inner lip and the radiallyinner surface; coating an exposed area of the coatable surface with aslurry comprising a fusible, hard metal alloy with at least 60% byweight of iron, cobalt, nickel, or alloys thereof in the form of afinely divided powder, polyvinyl alcohol, a suspension agent, and adeflocculant; forming a metallurgical bond between the exposed area andthe coating slurry to form a metallurgically bonded wear-resistantcoating on at least a portion of said coatable surface.
 2. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the metallurgically bonded wear-resistantcoating comprises a fused hard metal alloy comprising at least 60% byweight of iron, cobalt, nickel, or alloys thereof and having a Vickershardness greater than 950 HV.
 3. The method according to claim 1,wherein the uncoated metal ring comprises low, medium, or high carbonsteel.
 4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising lapping,grinding, polishing and/or otherwise finishing the surface of themetallurgically bonded wear-resistant coating.
 5. A wear-resistantmechanical face seal ring produced by the process of claim
 1. 6. Awear-resistant mechanical face seal ring, comprising: to an uncoatedmetal ring, comprising: a radially inner surface; a radially outersurface forming an axially inner lip, an axially outer lip, and a groovetherebetween; a coatable surface extending between an edge of theaxially inner lip and the radially inner surface; and a metallurgicallybonded wear-resistant coating on at least a portion of said coatablesurface.
 7. The mechanical face seal ring according to claim 6, whereinthe wear-resistant coating comprising a fused hard metal alloycomprising at least 60% by weight iron, cobalt, nickel or alloysthereof, and wherein the wear-resistant coating has a Vickers hardnessgreater than 950 HV.
 8. The mechanical face seal ring according to claim6, wherein the uncoated metal ring comprises low, medium, or high carbonsteel.
 9. The mechanical face seal ring according to claim 6, whereinthe wear-resistant coating has a thickness of about 1.5 mm.
 10. Themechanical face seal ring according to claim 6, wherein themetallurgically bonded wear-resistant coating forms a wear surface thatdiverges in the radially inward direction.
 11. A mechanical face seal,comprising: first and second mechanical face seal rings according toclaim 6, disposed coaxially, such that the wear-resistant coating ofeach are in contact over at least a portion thereof; is first and secondelastomeric rings disposed radially outward of said first and secondmechanical face seal rings, respectively, wherein each elastomeric ringis in contact with the groove in the radially outer surface of eachrespective ring; first and second housing bores disposed radiallyoutward of said first and second elastomeric rings, respectively, suchthat each housing bore compresses the respective elastomeric ringbetween an inner surface of the housing bore and said radially outersurface of said mechanical face seal ring.
 12. The mechanical face sealaccording to claim 11, wherein the radially inner surfaces of themechanical face seal rings define a region containing one or morelubricants.